


An Unreasonable Man

by Iamtigerlily



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Admittedly its not explicitly romantic but the Feeling is there, Brief mentions of some other students, Crimson Flower Route, Ferdinand would like to learn magic and it goes about as well as you'd expect, I love them but we know who this is About, It's ambiguous, M/M, Post/During Time-skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25491343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamtigerlily/pseuds/Iamtigerlily
Summary: Ferdinand requests that Hubert teach him how to cast a Fire spell. It goes about as well as you would expect for a man famous for his failing grades in Reason.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 12
Kudos: 68





	An Unreasonable Man

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written since literally middle school so all I can ask is that you be kind :') And a brief thanks to [Adaire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlaeFatorum/pseuds/Adaire) for being a general Ferdibert writing inspiration and also telling me how the hell html works on this site.

“These are hardly words I ever thought I would say, but I believe you have somehow managed to overthink Reason.”

A frustrated groan met Hubert in response, gloved hands dropping to the side of the offending General. Hubert was almost tempted to remind the man once more that hemming and hawing would not make the magic come to him any easier, but this many failures in maybe anything could work. Had it been one of his mages showing him these kind of pathetic results, well, they wouldn’t have been one of His for much longer.

Unfortunately for Hubert, rather than an easily dismissed underling, standing before him was the Esteemed Ferdinand von Aegir, widely known Prime Minister and butcherer of Reason exams during their academy days. The frustration on the other man’s face was as clear as the cloudless sky above them, the relentless sun beating down on them as they stood in this middle of nowhere field for a reason as of yet unclear to the Minister of the Imperial Household. Perhaps he could call this mockery of a training session off on the excuse that he did not wish to pass away from heat stroke, but a rather annoying voice in the back of his head told him that would feel an awful lot like defeat. Or perhaps Ferdinand was saying that to his face, the voices sounded much the same and Hubert would be lying if he said he’d paid attention to everything the other man declared about his repeated blunders.

“-if I was better able to relate to the fire it might help? It is possible I am just not feeling it correctly.”

“...you wish to relate to it. The fire.” Hubert was not a religious man for obvious reasons, but there were moments like this when he wished for the false goddess to smite him just to end his exasperation.

“Certainly! I have been considering it a destructive force, you know. But perhaps it is upset at being so misinterpreted! Fire can certainly be powerful, but there are aspects to it that are comforting and supportive. If I am to create it myself, then perhaps I must approach it from all angles.”

“This is Reason we are speaking of, yes? Not a skittish horse you have invited into your stables. All you have to do is understand the formulas and go through the forms correctly. ‘The fire’ does not care about your intent for it.”

That earned him one of the famous von Aegir pouts, but the general resumed his casting pose once more, arms outstretched and eyes focused on the dummy they’d spirited away from the palace’s training grounds. It was better for morale to not have the soldiers witness their General fail so spectacularly at something so simple, and so they had chosen somewhere more remote for what could only laughably be called a 'lesson'. Hubert approached closer to carefully evaluate the other’s position, his gaze sweeping from his stance to the way each individual finger was poised in the air. Better, but not perfect.

Once more, Hubert removed his dagger from its sheath, using the flat of the blade to push Ferdinand’s arms into the right position. It was hardly the most effective tool for this sort of thing, but it was humorous to watch the way Ferdinand carefully eyed it (as if Hubert could ever mishandle the weapon he’d been holding since childhood, preposterous) and he felt he’d earned a bit of comedy for the suffering he was being put through. He would have just used his hands, but trying that earlier had caused Ferdinand to jolt like some sort of startled fawn, and Hubert had the feeling his patience would be much thinner if the other man were to break his nose.

“You _are_ certain that is not one of the poisoned ones, yes?” 

Hubert blinked at him slowly, a ghost of what some might call a smile passing over his lips. “Why Ferdinand, I don’t ever remember promising you it wasn’t.”

“Hub-!” Ferdinand’s arms nearly jerked away from him completely, defensive instincts clearly coming into play. A smarter part of his brain must have won out in the end though, for he stilled his movements before he could ruin the posture Hubert had worked so hard to correct. Instead, he shot a pointed frown in his companion’s direction. Ah, if only Fire could be cast from the eyes, then Ferdinand might have actually had a chance.

“Best be careful.” With one final nudge of his wrist, Hubert stepped back and sheathed the definitively unpoisoned dagger at his hip. And waited.

In theory, this would be where a skilled mage (or even an unskilled one, Fire was hardly an advanced spell) quickly summoned forth a ball of flame, destroying the straw dummy in a blaze of glory and freeing Hubert from this monotonous trial. Instead, he was graced with what he now counted as glorious silence as the Prime Minister shut his mouth to concentrate on the task in front of him. If previous attempts were anything to go off of, Ferdinand would go at this for several minutes before giving up in a grand show of melodrama that had to be quieted before they could resume. It gave some time to reflect at least, pale green eyes wandering towards the silhouette of Enbarr in the distance.

\--

_“You want me to teach you Reason.”_

_Hubert peered at Ferdinand over the edge of his coffee cup, briefly considering what it might take to haul an unwilling cavalier to the medical wing if it came to it. Best to consider all the options, because he doubted this question could come from a Ferdinand completely in his right mind._

_“Absolutely! It can be no one else. Hubert, you know very well that there is no one more skilled than you on the topic in this palace.” The Prime Minister neatly placed his tea on its saucer before speaking, and Hubert had to wonder if he was aware of how much his arms waved about when he became argumentative, or if his body simply acted on preemptive instinct at this point._

_“And what of Dorothea and Linhardt? I am sure they would feel rather disheartened to know you’ve dismissed them so easily.” Well, perhaps Dorothea would. Lindhardt, if he could be bothered to wake up to hear the slander, likely couldn’t care less._

_Ferdinand’s movements stuttered slightly at the question, and though Hubert could see him attempting to form a counter argument, a single raised eyebrow was enough to have him holding up his hands in mock surrender. He sighed, hand going once more to his teacup. Most likely to give himself ‘a cheering sip’, as he had called it in the past, before continuing._

_“...I had considered them. But well, as you are most certainly aware, Reason is not a skill I am particularly...adept in.” The understatement of the millennium, if his grades at the academy were anything to go off of. “I am not sure if they would be the most understanding of teachers, given that.”_

_“You fear Dorothea might use you as target practice after too many failed attempts, and Linhardt…” Well, it hardly needed to be said. If there was an activity Linhardt was uninterested in, it was near impossible to find him to ask him about it in the first place._

_“...Yes.”_

_“And you think I would have more patience for your antics, because…?” Hubert brought his cup to his lips once more, frowning when it came up empty. At this point they’d have to make a new pot entirely if he wished for more, and surely this couldn’t drag on much longer. As much as he enjoyed the teatimes with Ferdinand, they were both busy men with jobs to do._

_“Surely you would not pass on the opportunity to add another asset to our army? Were I able to wield both weapons and magic, I would be even more of a force to be reckoned with. Someone as logical as you can hardly deny that.”_

_“If you are looking to train in magic, have you considered practicing Faith? I understand you displayed marginally more talent for it than Reason.”_

_A pause, and Ferdinand’s finger lightly tapped on the table between them, his eyes staring pointedly at a spot just past Hubert’s shoulder. “No. It must be Reason.” A shift in his gaze, this time looking his friend directly in the eyes. “Please, Hubert. I would not ask if it was not important to me.”_

_Anyone else, and Hubert would have informed them that just because something was personally important to them did not mean it was worth distracting himself from his work for Edelgard. Anyone else, and he would have pressed to know the motives behind the request that were clearly going unmentioned. Anyone else, and he would have silenced them with a glare for even daring to ask. Anyone else, and he would not be sitting here enjoying a calming and enjoyable conversation in the first place._

_The dark mage sighed, already starting to figure out what changes in his schedule would need to be made to accommodate this._

_“Is there any particular spell you wish to start off with?”._

_Ferdinand grinned, his regular exuberance returning to him all at once as he leaned forward in his chair, whispering in a conspiratorial manner that was completely unnecessary._

_“I think I might like to learn Fire.”_

\--

“Stop.”

Ferdinand let out a breath of air, arms falling once more as he turned towards Hubert, argument already fresh on his lips. “I almost had it, I swear this time. If you had given me just a few more moments of focus-”

“You would have passed out, I’m sure. While I admire your constitution, I believe it slipped your notice that you had forgotten to breathe for the past thirty seconds or so.” It was hard to say if the Prime Minister colored at that remark, or if the heat was finally beginning to get to him too.

“Well. That may be true, but clearly it shows that I am truly being drawn into the casting now. Such concentration could only mean-”

“Ferdinand.” Hubert disliked cutting the other off so often, but this had gone on long enough. While the two were known for their spats, they were usually polite enough to let the other finish their point before turning around to tear it to shreds. Thankfully, the tone of his voice was enough to keep Ferdinand from commenting on the continued offense.

“Why are you doing this? You hardly require magic to be an asset to this empire, on the field or otherwise.”

“But I can do more, Hubert! The amount of damage I can do with magic could be exponential! I know I am a difficult student, but I assure you I can remedy this.”

“I am certain you could, with enough time. That is not the issue here, Ferdinand. Certainly the use of magic in the right hands can be a dangerous weapon, but your enemy will not care if they are pierced through with lightning or the head of your spear. There is no shame in sticking to your already considerable strengths.”

“I am not _ashamed_ of my skills!” The outburst was sudden, Hubert’s eyes widening in slight shock at the sound of real offense in Ferdinand’s voice. The other man seemed to catch himself quickly, fumbling for an apology or some sort of recovery. But enough was enough. All this dancing around Ferdinand’s true goal was beyond exhausting.

“Then _why_ do you need to know Reason. Truthfully.” Hubert nearly growled the sentence out, his hand itching to go for the knife that usually accompanied such intimidation tactics. He wouldn’t have use of it here, but old habits die hard.

Seemingly thinking better than continuing to lie to him, Ferdinand bit his lip, taking a moment to consider his next words. His eyes downcast, the mumbled words barely made their way to Hubert across the space between them. “...I cannot tell you.”

“Then I am done teaching you. Hire a tutor if you’re so damn determined, Ferdinand.” Hubert grit his teeth, stalking past Ferdinand and towards the horses that had brought them out here in the first place. So much for being a more patient teacher.

“Wait!”

He’d hardly made it more than a few steps, but he paused, fingers going to rub at his temples. It truly was hard to tell if it was dehydration or Ferdinand that was causing this damning headache. 

“What.”

Ferdinand half jogged the short distance between them, coming up just shy of Hubert before faltering.

“It was...Well. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“What was, Ferdinand.”

“The uh. The spell. The fire.”

For one generally so gifted in the art of speech, Hubert found he could not understand a word the Prime Minister was saying.

“You intended to surprise me with a spell I taught you?”

“Yes! Well, no. Not exactly. It was rather, more. What I intended to do with it.”

“And _what_ did you intend to do with it?” Perhaps he could stab himself with one of the several weapons strapped to his body. It might make this conversation slightly less painful in comparison.

“Your quarters!” At the exasperated look from Hubert, Ferdinand at least seemed to realize he was being less than helpful in his descriptions. Hubert wasn’t even sure how to dignify these last words with a response. “That is to say, I have noticed that your quarters are always irredeemably cold when we take tea or do work there.”

“...And you intended to remedy this by setting them on fire?” Perhaps the temperature in his room was less than ideal, but it was hardly something Hubert had ever noticed. There were certain costs with making sure it was difficult to access for anyone outside the palace and wouldn’t risk any foolhardy servant from wandering in to clean and getting skewered with Dark Spikes. Ferdinand had commented on the monotone decor in passing, but Hubert hardly thought it was so bad it needed to be put to the torch.

“Goddess, no!” Seemingly overcome by the situation, Ferdinand threw up his hands, opting to sit on the ground rather than deal with the possibility of being eye level with Hubert. “This has all gone terribly awry.” He dragged his hands down his face, and this time Hubert was certain the red crawling up his neck and ears had little to do with the sun overhead. Letting lose what must have been the hundredth sigh today, Hubert flicked his cape behind himself and carefully sat down on the grass across from Ferdinand.

“Try explaining it slowly, Ferdinand, please. Take a moment to collect yourself if you must.”

After a minute of gathering his breath and thoughts, Ferdinand lowered his hands from his face, looking momentarily surprised to see Hubert on the ground in front of him. Shaking his head slightly, he let a lopsided grin come to his lips as he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “This is all terribly embarrassing. I assure you I am not one to usually lose my composure in such a way.”

“Well, you have certainly done worse. I have detailed records, if you wish to peruse.” Hubert arched an eyebrow at him, and the other man gave a somewhat exhausted laugh. Well, it was only partially true.

“I do not doubt that, friend.” He cleared his throat. “Well, as it is. I wanted to get a...gift, for you. The tea you acquired for me last time was positively splendid, you know. I’ve had similar blends before, but this was actually quite fascinating in some of the floral notes it added and how the steeping time had to be adjusted to account-”

“Ferdinand, focus.”

“Ah, yes. Apologies.” Another brief chuckle. “As I was saying, I felt I should get you something appropriate in return. And yes, before you start, I know I had gifted you coffee at the same time. But that was in return for the previous tea you had given me, and as such I was still in your debt. And while I am happy to procure coffee for you, I felt as if it was perhaps uncouth to buy you the same item every time.”

“...Unnecessary, but I at least follow your reasoning so far as that. I fail to see how Reason or...my living situation comes into play.”

“Ah, yes. Well. I had been in the marketplace, looking for something appropriate, when I stumbled across a stand selling various magical trinkets. Several of them had been imbued with a sort of fire charm, capable of-”

“Warming a room, yes. Lady Edelgard employs several within her chambers. What does this have to do with-”

“Me learning Reason! You are not the only one capable of finishing another’s sentence.” The grin of success on Ferdinand’s face was absolutely unfitting for the idiocy of their current conversation. What was there to be proud of here, exactly? “The merchant explained the process of making them to me, and mentioned how so long as the caster knew Fire, the actual enchanting was a relatively simple process. I simply recalled how the Professor had spoken of Fire as one of the easiest spells to learn, and I ah...perhaps foolishly thought I had only misremembered my struggles with the subject. The merchant had several guides on enchanting too he was willing to part with for me, to ease the process. But I thought, regardless, that you might appreciate something...homemade?”

The formidable General von Aegir finished his tale with a shy smile, and for all Hubert had seen this man conquer on both the political and military field, he had to briefly wonder how he had ever made it past his first lesson at Garreg Mach without being skewered for his incompetence.

“You understand that the temperature of my rooms has never been an issue for me, yes? If it was unhealthy to the point of interfering with my work, I would adjust it.”

“The same way you have adjusted your sleep schedule to remain healthy?”

Hubert grimaced. This was a point of argument they had gone over many times, and it was not something he wished to bring into the current nonsense. He took a deep breath in, taking a moment to process the story and holding up a palm to prevent Ferdinand from trying to continue it while he thought.

“You are telling me. You have dragged me out to this field and Implored me to teach you a martial combat—one you are _notoriously_ incapable of—because you wanted to be able to make a bauble from a marketplace stand by yourself.”

“...Yes? A gift is better if it is personal.”

He said it with such confidence Hubert was almost inclined to believe him, if only because the parts of his brain that were used to process common sense had long since short circuited. After a long moment, Hubert simply shook his head.

“Ferdinand, I am not going to teach you Reason anymore.”

“But Hubert! It is vitally important that I learn this. How else am I supposed to craft your gift?”

“You are not. I do not know what nonsense this merchant sold you, but while the Fire spell itself may be simple, any quality enchantments are only learned after years of work. You _might_ have been able to make one, but it would have been more than likely to explode after several uses, and I am certain I would not have appreciated the assassination attempt.”

Ferdinand gaped at him, his eyes wide as the information settled in his mind. Hubert figured with that taken care of, they could start to pick themselves up off the ground and make their way back to his apparently Abhorrently cooler living space. A shout interrupted him in the midst of standing up, although this time Hubert did not find himself nearly as surprised.

“He _lied_ to me, the dastard! Hubert, what if I had hurt you in my folly?” The Prime Minister paused, other thoughts clearly already starting to whir in his brain. “What if he has sold these same ‘manuals’ to other civilians? I am lucky to have a teacher in Reason such as you, but it is entirely possible there are others who have no such resources and might attempt something dangerous. Hubert, you know more of magical items than I do. What are the current laws when it comes to licenses to sell them and their related wares? Surely there must be a sort of prevention…”

Ferdinand had risen to his feet somewhere in the middle of his impromptu speech, hand on his chin as he all but paced the already downtrodden grass beneath them. At least his mind was on something other than...whatever this previous nonsense had been. The Prime Minister continued his stream of thought as he turned and made his way towards the horses, Hubert following after him silently. Best to just let him run his thoughts on when he got like this. They weren’t always applicable, but most times these rants of Ferdinand’s ended up in a largely beneficial policy being implemented for the empire. 

But Hubert had let his guard down, thinking himself finally free of Ferdinand’s unyielding attention. As soon as they reached Ferdinand’s beasts, the orange-haired menace spun around, gaze fixated on his fellow Minister once more. 

“Do not think I have forgotten about you, Hubert.” A pity, he’d rather hoped he had.

“Though it seems I cannot craft them myself, I will make sure to have a fine set of these charms commissioned for you. I will be certain to oversee every step of the process to ensure they are suitable for the Minister of the Imperial Household. I swear it on the name of von Aegir.”

An incomprehensible thing to swear upon or for, but that was Ferdinand, wasn’t it. There was little to be done about it.

“...At least allow me to accompany you. If there is to be outside magic in my room, I must make sure there is no untoward interference.” That, and he did not entirely trust Ferdinand to not put something utterly ridiculous in his room if left unfettered.

Hubert’s ulterior motives at least seemed to pass unnoticed, and Ferdinand laughed as he swung himself up into the saddle. “I suppose the surprise is ruined anyways, so please feel free to come along. We shall make a date of it.” He waited just until he was sure Hubert had safely mounted his own horse before he snapped the reigns, pushing the mare into a steady gallop back towards the capital.

Hubert stared after Ferdinand for a long moment before rolling his eyes and nudging his own steed into a significantly slower pace. Time may always be of the essence, but he wasn’t going to try his luck with these ridiculous animals. When he glanced up from the reigns once more, Ferdinand had paused at the crest of a hill up ahead, the sun beating down on him as he gestured with an arm for his fellow Minister to hurry up and join him.

Hubert let out a puff of air through his nostrils, urging the horse slightly faster. Couldn’t keep the esteemed Ferdinand von Aegir waiting, apparently.

Truly, it only made sense that reason could never be applied to such a ridiculous man.


End file.
